identity Archives - Improvised Life

Crazy Beautiful Joy Dance via Issey Miyake PFW20

We’ve watched this little video on instagram many times now, vicariously soaking up its unexpectedly BIG expression of joy AND its insight into the most common of personal catalysts…

Powerful Questions About Personal Expression Sparked by W.S. Merwin’s Garden Time (Consider Journal)

At #Consider Journal, a remarkable post ranges from W.S. Merwin’s last book to the “cyclical effect of nature and art” to the bigger question of how our expression might come to resonate in bigger ways.

Slomo Followed THIS Principle To Change His Life and Transcend the Trappings of the Material World

The impetus for Dr. John Kitchen’s radical life change into the skater Slomo was the answer a very old man gave him when he asked, “What is the secret to living so long?”

Bolivia’s Cholita Wrestlers and Mountain Climbers Transform Stereotypes with Fierce Acts of Empowerment

Aymara indigenous women in Bolivia, long marginalized, have embraced wrestling and mountain climbing in traditional colorful skirts to affirm their history and their visibility. Their motto: To want is power.

Hannah Gadsby’s ‘Nanette’ and Ted Talk ask: “What Is the Purpose of My Human?’

In her TED talk and HBO special, “autistic, pathologically shy” Hannah Gadsby tells how she came to be the most talked about comedian on the planet. It started when she asked herself an essential question:

Ikigai: “What Makes You Jump Out of Bed in the Morning? and Other Questions That Will Help You Find It

When a friend sent us VENN diagrams of the Japanese concept of Ikigai last week, we found we couldn’t get its big fat question out of our mind.

Pamela Adlon on Aging as Content and Allen Ginsberg Just Being Content

Pamela Adlon’s riff on aging and the sudden changes of her body got us thinking about the need to turn ourselves into content to accept ourselves. Then we came upon Allen Ginsberg’s view.

Jean Cocteau’s Catalyzing 2-line Psychotherapy Lesson

An insightful quote from legendary poet, film-maker, artist, Jean Cocteau has had a number of people we know thinking hard about it and how much it resonates: a tiny therapeutic bomb that catalyzes change.

Frances McDormand On Aging, Facelifts, and the Roadmap that is our Face

Actress Frances McDormand says so much that is wise about aging in this short interview. As does this poem by Fleur Adcock.

David Hockney and Joni Mitchell Instagram “Opens Up Our Vision to What is Possible”

The New York Times parsed 13 reasons why the instagram of art and music legends David Hockney and Joni Mitchell went viral. We found some other reasons why the image is so powerful…

The Remarkable Last Question in Barbara Hammer’s End-of-Life Exit Interview

An end-of-life “Exit Interview” is in itself a remarkable and startling thing to undertake. No less the answer to the last question.

The ‘Delicate Cages’ of A Stranger’s Hands (Robert Bly)

More astonishing than the 40+ rings on a stranger’s hands, where the hands themselves. Together they taught me an unexpected lesson, the big gift of my day (along with a poem by Robert Bly).

How a Cheap Wig and Selfies Revealed Another Possible Self

About 2 years ago, I bought a cheap, silvery wig on Amazon for $13. It would prove to be a might catalyst for change…

Over our Transom: Lynzy Lab’s Brilliant ‘A Scary Time’ Video

With only a ukelele, a cell phone camera and a Twitter feed, Lynzy Lab made a smart, insightful pitch-perfect video that went viral.

Annals of Personal Ritual: Self Portrait in Wedding Clothes Taken Every Anniversary

Fran Black enjoys creating very personal rituals in order to collect memories in ways that feel meaningful, like this unique yearly celebration of her long marriage…

Improvised Feminism: 11-Year-Old’s Barbie Reconstruction Obliterates Stereotypes

We were knocked out by an eleven-year-old’s evocative description of returning her Barbie to a clean slate through the mightily therapeutic act of “reconstruction”.

24 Sublime Dancing Goddess Gifs Share Their Joy

Animator Nina Paley created two dozen sublime early goddess GIFs, including a sassy Venus of Willendorf. We don’t know when we’ve seen so much forthright joy.

E. Jean on Life, Decor, and The Best Piece of Advice She’s Ever Given

E. Jean Carroll, the longest running advice columnist in history, lives alone on a small island in the woods of upstate New York.This short video profile gives us a glimpse of a pure original whose carved out a completely original life, in the mainstream, yet completely OUT.

Jim Carrey’s New Life of Color

Over the transom came a whole side of Jim Carrey we would never have guessed: Jim Carrey the artist who has much to say about vocation, art, healing…Check out his lovely, very surprising video.

Longevity + Life Advice from an 105-Year-Old MD

Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, an expert on longevity, died recently at age 105. He imposed few inviolable health rules, though he did recommend some essential guidelines.

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